By Hand

Someone asked me yesterday where I get the base for my lotion because she's allergic to certain chemicals.  I replied that all of my products were hand made and she replied, asking again where I get my mix from.

This made me realize I have not done a very good job of explaining By Hand, For Hands!

Everything I make is made from scratch, that is, there is no base, mix, etc.  Let me explain the process to give you a better idea.

One of my favourite products is the hand cream I've been using every night.  I don't have a name for it yet, but it was one of the first things I formulated and it's something I created specifically for me, a little luxury.

I wanted something emollient and rich to wear at night, something that lasted and yet something not sticky.  One of my pet peeves are lotions that 'stick' and this is usually because of their glycerin content or because they are made with things that will evaporate off your skin rather than nourish them.  The evaporation takes time and leaves yuck.

What I do first is research the oils and butters I want to use.  Each oil (like argan and safflower) and butter (like shea and cocoa) is made up of a complex chain of fatty acids.  The way these bonds are formed create different properties in the oil making it either light or heavy and giving it all sort of different nutrients like vitamins, ceramides, and beneficial acids like gamma linolenic.  Some oils are anti inflammatory, or anti acne, and some can actually help regenerate damaged or aging cells.  These are facts proven by science, not some fear-mongering consumer site.

I figure out what my goal is for the product I'm making and pick oils and butter that fit that need or 'fix' the issues I'm blending for, like a little Rx.  For this cream I went with cocoa which is occlusive, which means it forms a barrier to your skin to keep it hydrated.  I also used olive oil with is really rich in amazing things to hydrate and heal.

Sometimes I will even go so far as to infuse those oils with herbs to go one step further and add even more nutrients and benefits. 

Then I'll chose the liquid portion of the cream.  Most often big companies fill theirs with fillers like chemicals or alcohols.  I use either pure distilled water but most often, herb infused teas and hydrosols to jam even more healthy things into the lotion.  I often add things to keep your skin moisturized like humectants.  In my night cream I used chamomile tea as well and lavender hydrosol and glycerin.

Each 'phase' of the lotion must be blended and it's usually a combination of things, never just 'an oil' and 'water'.   Once blended you heat and hold these phases in order to be able to combine them and to ensure that they are contaminate free.

From there you add a couple of naturally derived fatty acids or fatty alcohols to get things to emulsify, that is for the water and oil to combine, and you whip it like heck while it's still warm and as it cools it becomes a luxurious cream that you can add even more things to like essential oils or skin loving allantoin and panthenol.  Of course you need to consider the over all make up of the blend to make sure there is enough going on to keep it thin enough to use and to keep it combined and not separate or to ensure it stays fresh and doesn't mold or go rancid.  The night cream is formulated to be thicker than a day cream might be.

I use as many locally sourced products as I can whenever I use things like goat's milk, lanolin, and olive oils and I never use soy.  My oils are organic and non-gmo.  I never fill my products with chemicals.  I never dump some base into a jar and add a scent, in fact, I don't use any artificial scents in my body products, just eos or herbs.   For my night cream I used lavender eo.

I do use some amazing scents in my soaps and scrubs, but I will also make a separate soap line that is still all natural.  I never use palm or animal products in my soaps.

In the end, the night cream I formulated is rich, hydrating, and soothing via it's herbal and eo additives.

Every time I sit to formulate a new product I do so with a need in mind create my own 'prescriptive' remedy, by hand.

DIY: Herb Balm

I have a burn around my one nail that has taken off my entire cuticle bed and refuses to heal.  It was caused by a bad polish I used for a mani... like a month ago now.  I used what the pharmacist recommended until it dawned on me... Hey.  I can make something better MYSELF.

This recipe isn't anything I plan on producing, it's just a little Rx I made myself full of a couple EOs that I knew would help my peeling skin.  I made just enough to fill up a couple little jars.

4g Cocoa Butter
2g Lanolin
4g Beeswax
1g Argan Oil
1g Avocado Oil
 5 drops each: Arnica, Lavender, Chamomile, Tea Tree, and Rose Geranium. 

Add the first five ingredients to a small heat proof jar and melt together, I use a double boiler.  When it's all combined mix in the EOs and pour into jars to cool and set.

It's not a very solid balm, I wanted it to melt in without needing much rubbing and it's very herbal smelling, almost like a perfume with the Lavender and Rose.  While I made this to use on my cuticle, you could easily use it to sooth burns and scrapes anywhere!

DIY: Tinctures!

One of the things I've been studying the last few months is herbology.  Herbalism is not just a skill in WoW, it's a very real medical science that goes hand in hand with Aromatherapy.  By studying them at the same time I have not just overloaded my schedule, but my brain with possibilities!

After a nasty stint with insomnia this Spring, just after the accident, I found an amazing Deep Sleep glycerite that worked really well.  They're not hard to make at all.  It's a process, though, and so to get there I started out with creating tinctures.

Tinctures are liquid extracts made from herbs that you take orally (by mouth). They are usually extracted in alcohol.  Tinctures are easy and convenient to use.

I create my tinctures with 95% alcohol and you can find it next to the Vodkas in the liquer sections.  It is quite possibly the most disgusting drink ever, so don't even sip it neat.  Don't.

If I'm creating a specific blend,  I first research and ensure that the herbs I have gathered meet that purpose.  In this case I'm working on a body spray for all that bare summer skin, something that is clarifying.  I am using White Willow Bark, which creates salicylic acid (salicin, which is an aspirin like chemical), and Calendula, which helps with inflammation and wound care.

It's really important to make sure that your herbs are both skin safe and don't counter act each other!  Also make sure you are not using something that isn't suggested for oral use that you plan on ingesting.  In this case, both my herbs are safe!

In this case, I used about 10 ml (volume) of each and added them to a 4 oz ball jar and then filled it with the alcohol and capped it tightly.  Then your work is done.  All you need to do is let it sit for a while (48 hours) and shake it occasionally, keeping it in a cupboard and away from direct heat and light.

And then you have a tincture! They tend to be very strong and bitter and used by the drop orally, though there are actually MANY applications to using them in sprays and lotions, as I made this one for!  I store mine in amber glass dropper bottles in a cool cupboard.

Vinyls

I wanted to show you what I've been working on!

Last week I got a Silhouette Cameo, a digital cutting tool. I wanted one to make custom stickers and decorations, but realized as it was on it's way to me that I would actually be able to make nail vinyls on it as well.  And I can.  I can take just about any design ever and put it on my nail!!

 This is my first attempt.  It's a free file I downloaded and then shrunk and then sat and 'fixed' making sure all the lines, now smaller, would cut correctly.  I really love how it came out!

A sheet of two of these will be included in my Naughty or Nice giveaway, which starts this weekend!

I'm also currently working on creating a whole bunch of other things, from laces to stripes to little motifs. I can't wait to share more of them with you.

If you have any requests, please let me know!